Inherently Evil
by PurebloodPrincess3128
Summary: Hermione and Draco see eye to eye, if only for a moment... (one shot)


"_If you are the light, if your enemies are darkness then there's nothing that you cannot justify. There's nothing you can't survive, because there's nothing that you will not do" _

_(Station Eleven, Emily St John Mandel)_

As a young child Hermione had always been loved, she had two successful parents who coddled and adored her. It wasn't until she entered her primary education that she came to realise that what she had experienced was not the case for everybody she would meet in her life. She slowly was more exposed to the darker sides of humanity, cases of abuse and neglect filtered there way through her bubble. She herself had in fact experienced bullying when it became clear she was unlike the other children in her grade.

So at the ripe age of 11 when Hermione went to Hogwarts, she was aware that all was not as it seems. Behind closed doors she could never truly know what happens. Assumptions could never be made and more often than not bullying was a direct result of something horrible in that bullies life.

In saying that Draco Malfoy had always been something of an enigma to her. He strutted around school like a peacock in a zoo but she could always tell something lurked beneath his facade. Perhaps it was the uncertainty in his eyes, or the general coldness that was present in so many of his Slytherin counterparts. Though she never dwelt on him for long, his problems did not concern her and although her bleeding heart called for her to help him she knew he would rebuff her.

So for her first, second, third, forth and fifth year at Hogwarts Draco Malfoy was but a blip on her proverbial radar. Apart from the occasional run ins with Harry and Ron, Draco never went out of his was to insult her. He made scathing comments in her general direction but only when in the presence of the other two thirds of the trio, when he passed her in the hallways by herself it was as if she didn't exist.

So imagine her surprise when one evening in she caught him white faced leaning precariously on the banister of the astronomy tower. She had begun to retreat back down the staircase but was stopped by the sound of his hoarse voice.

"It's awfully late for a lioness to be out of her den isn't it?" He muttered and turned away from her looking out across the Hogwarts grounds.

"Always the biting comments about Gryffindor's, honestly Malfoy did a Lion break your arm or does that only happen with Hippogriffs?" She hurled back. "You know what, doesn't matter, why are you here?"  
"I could ask you the same Granger" He replied bitingly, still turned from her.

"Well I, I couldn't sleep" Hermione said softly her previous fire dampened, head tilting to the side almost ashamed of herself at the admission. It was true though, she really couldn't, with Harry so paranoid this year and Voldemort on the rise she knew it was only a matter of time before someone she knew got hurt or died. It was a thought that haunted her and the reason she was out past curfew. The stars always helped her relax, her father had taught her the constellations at a young age and it comforted her to have something around her that never changed.

"What could you possibly have running around in that bushy head of yours thats got you up" He grumbled darkly.

"Nothing of consequence to you I'm sure," she murmured, "Umm… are you alright Malfoy? Only you look quite ill. Do you need me to take you to the hospital wing, I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will be able to help."

He laughed then, but it wasn't a happy laugh, it was dark and she thought she could almost hear tears in his voice. "You Gryffindor's think there's a solution to everything don't you?" He paused and took a deep breath, "Look Granger I know you're only trying to help but I'd appreciate if you'd just crawl back into the hole you came out of."

Hermione looked down and thought about it. She had one of two options: One; she could listen to her gut and leave the tower before Malfoy could say anything else or Two; she could stay and try and help, the boy clearly had issues and if there was one thing she definitely knew it was that people were products of their environment.

With that she decided, "I know you hate me, but… well its just… Is something bothering you? You can talk to me you know, its not like I'm friends with anyone you're friends with."

He turned towards her an unreadable emotion in his bloodshot eyes, "How could you possibly help me? You have dirty blood, you are beneath me." Yet even as he said this she felt he was saying it almost to convince himself, not her.

"Why is it you feel that way?"

Her question caught him off guard. No one had ever questioned his belief in blood supremacy, let alone a mudblood like her. His father had instilled in him from birth; muggles are filth, mudblood's use stolen magic, halfblood's are half dirty and above all else pureblood's rein supreme. Yet as he looked at this strange witch he couldn't help but question it.

But no, sure her grades were better than even his but thats because she used magic stolen from wizards like him. It had to be that.

"Because you are, your magic is not yours and you do not deserve a place amongst my society."

"Sounds like hogwash to me, I thought you were smart Draco, think for yourself."

Draco… the name reverberated around in his head, burning every surface it touched because it was uttered by a mouth so inherently filthy.

"I am…" Even he didn't sound sure to himself. He certainly didn't sound sure to Hermione.

"If you truly believed that then why do you look so unsure right now? I can tell you right now that someone of absolute persuasion would not look so conflicted"

"I don't know okay!" He shouted suddenly. He was twitching in rage, his hands fisted by his sides tightly.

"I don't think you're all bad you know… I've always wondered whether evil is born or cultivated. But I think its becoming clearer and clearer to me now." Hermione wondered aloud.

"You think I'm evil?" He whispered. He didn't now why but hearing her say that made him clench in sadness.

"No Draco, I think you've been fed lies your entire life and that web your family has woven so intricately around you is starting to fall away and you're scared. You're scared because a world of grey is a lot harder to navigate than one in black and white"

Draco blinked rapidly. His thoughts jumbled as he processed her words. "You're wrong" He muttered defiantly but even he didn't believe his words.

"Then I'm wrong I suppose… good luck Draco, you're going to need it" Hermione said before she turned and walked back down the stairs away from the astronomy tower.

Little did she know that that seed of doubt she planted in the mind of one Draco Malfoy would be the very thing that gave him the strength to walk away. To stray from the path he had previously thought was set in stone and abandon the cause his father worshipped.

...

Thanks for reading loves, its my first fanfic so forgive my terrible writing :)


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